No Reins
by Strawberry Shortcake123
Summary: The world is saved, and Max can finally live her life the way she wants. Songfic to the song by Rascal Flatts. Oneshot. Fax.


**I'm not sure if I've ever done a songfic before… and if I have, it definitely wasn't recently. Don't know if I'm good at it or not, so we'll just see.**

**This song has always reminded me of Max, about what she could have been if she hadn't grown up in a lab. The fic is about how, after saving the world, she is able to break away from the bonds that have always held her.**

**Here we go.**

**Disclaimer: Maximum Ride belongs to James Patterson, not me.**

_She left that loser in a dust cloud_

_Heart in his hand, chin on the ground_

_Cried her last tear for that clown_

_She can see a little clearer now_

_She said, "Oh, oh, I gotta go and find me"_

_Oh, oh, she found the strength to break free_

"I saved the world," Max told Jeb, arms crossed defiantly. "What else could you _possibly_ want from me?"

"The world doesn't want its protector to just vanish," he told her. "You're in the limelight now, Max. And you always will be."

"That's what you think," she snarled. No matter what Jeb said, she and the flock had their own lives to live. "We're going back to the way things were before this whole thing started. We're going to settle down somewhere and resume _our_ lives."

Jeb inhaled slowly, trying to remain patient. "Your destiny is not something you can just leave behind, Maximum. It will be with you forever."

Max shook her head and brushed past him. "Five years of it is enough. Goodbye, Jeb."

_Like a painted wild mustang_

_Flyin' out across the open range_

_Finally gets to live her life that way_

_No fear, no fences, nobody-- no reins_

_No reins_

Max unfurled her wings and took to the skies, feeling the wind in her hair, the cool air on her face. Grinning at the amazing feeling, she turned around to look at her flock.

Angel and Gazzy were talking about something, laughing animatedly. Nudge was beaming as she did a little twirl in mid-air. Total's wings had grown out by now, and he was flying alongside Iggy. And Fang… he caught Max's gaze and smiled slightly before flying up beside her.

"Hey," he said, his breath tickling her ear. "Pretty good up here, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, sighing contentedly. "I'm so excited. Is that weird? I mean… I feel like I haven't been able to make my own decisions and run my own life since… well, since Angel got kidnapped."

"Not weird," Fang said. "I'm excited too."

Max glanced at him, to see if he was mocking her. But he was still wearing that famous half-smile of his. She couldn't think of another time when Fang had actually said the words, _I'm excited._

Maybe he was breaking out of his shell, just like they were breaking away from the world.

_All she's ever felt is held back_

_She says, "It's kinda nice to hear myself laugh"_

_She's gonna do a lot more of that_

_She's makin' plans and makin' tracks_

_She said, "Oh, oh, I gotta go and find me"_

_Oh, oh, she found the strength to break free_

"Oh my…" Uncharacteristic tears sprang to Max's eyes as she looked around. Fang had taken her to look at it, saying it was the perfect place for them and the flock to start over. And now, as she surveyed the cozy Manhattan apartment, she knew he had been right.

"How much?" Max asked Fang, not wanting to get her hopes up if they couldn't afford it. They still had that bank card, but maybe now that she had refused to go along with Jeb, it would shut itself down.

"Doesn't matter. I knew you'd like it. I've already bought it. It's ours."

Max and Fang grinned at each other, and Fang crushed her to his torso. Right before he kissed her, he whispered, "Oh, and I got the job at the _Times_."

As they stood in the living room of their new apartment, kissing, with more light at the end of the tunnel than there'd been in a long time, Max just couldn't resist giggling girlishly against Fang's lips.

_Like a painted wild mustang_

_Flyin' out across the open range_

_Finally gets to live her life that way_

_No fear, no fences, nobody-- no reins_

Max stood in the doorway of the room Nudge and Angel were going to share, watching the girls arrange their new things on a brand new bookshelf. Twisting around, she looked into Gazzy and Iggy's room, to see them laughing with each other.

She smiled to herself. This was what they had wanted ever since they'd left the E-shaped house: to just live happily together, with food to eat, not having to worry about M-Geeks or Erasers or Flyboys.

At long last, they were free to do just that.

_Oh-oh she's learnin' how to let go_

_Oh-oh whichever way the wind blows_

_Oh-oh she's learnin' how to let go (learnin' how to let go)_

"I'm taking Angel and Gazzy to school!" Max called over her shoulder. "Nudge, you're taking the subway, right?"

"Yeah," she said, half-running into the room with her backpack thrown over her shoulder. "I think my pass expired. I need money for a new one."

Max took out the money she would need, but before she handed it over, she looked at Nudge in the eyes very seriously. "You have to be careful."

"Yeah, I know, Max!" Nudge said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "I take the subway all the time, remember? You--"

"Nudge." Fang came up behind Max, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Take the money and get to school. I'll talk to Max."

Smiling gratefully at him, Nudge grabbed her subway money from Max and dashed out the door, waving goodbye to the two youngest flock members. As soon as the door clicked shut, Fang wrapped his arms around Max's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Calm down," he whispered in her ear. "All the people after us are gone. We're safe now. And besides, Nudge is sixteen. She can take care of herself."

Max inhaled deeply, held it, and released it. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. Force of habit."

"Let it go," Fang said, and left a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"I will."

_Like a painted wild mustang_

_Flying out across the open range_

_Finally gets to live her life that way_

_No fear, no fences, nobody-- no reins_

"Iggy?" Max drummed her fingers impatiently on the table. "What're you doing? Come on, I want a piece of that cake!"

"Hold on," he called, back to the table as he bent over the cake. There was a pause. "Okay. Here we go." Iggy turned with the cake in his hands. Walking over to the table with amazing accuracy, he started serving it. Max got her piece last, and she grabbed a fork, ready to dig in, but stopped short.

Resting on that piece of cake was a ring.

She looked at Iggy, who was smirking, and then at Fang, sitting next to her. He grabbed both her hands and stared into her eyes. "Max," he began, speaking softly. "Max, we've been together since we were fourteen, and you're the reason I survived those five years of trying to save the world. And the whole time, I knew it was you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Maximum Ride, will you marry me?"

In a repeat of the episode in the submarine, Max sprang from her chair right into Fang's lap, winding her arms around his neck and kissing him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, and kissed back.

This was what she-- they-- had always wanted.

And now they could have it.

Nothing was holding them back.

_No reins_

**I really like how this turned out! I think it's my best Maximum Ride one shot so far. Oh, yay, I'm so happy. **

**I worked really hard on this, so I would pretty please like some reviews. And I encourage you to check out the song: No Reins by Rascal Flatts. Great song!**

**There wasn't originally going to be as much Fax as there was, but it just kind of happened. Like I said, I'm proud of how it turned out.**

**Review, please!**


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